ALLOWABLE REVIEWS TO STUDENT AND/OR SPOUSAL ASSET ...

ALLOWABLE REVIEWS TO STUDENT AND/OR SPOUSAL ASSET CONTRIBUTION
An adjustment to the assets as listed by the student and spouse on the OSAP application can be
considered in a number of situations.
Reviews to Increase the Exemption Level on Vehicles
Students and their partners are required to report the current gross market value of vehicles that
they own or lease as of the asset valuation date (i.e. 16 weeks prior to the start of their prestudy
period).
When calculating financial need, OSAP automatically applies an exemption of $5000 against the
total combined value of all vehicles owned or leased by the student and partner. In the following
situations, the exemption level may be increased to $10,000.
� Public transit is not available for the student to use from his or her home to the
postsecondary institution:
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the student indicating his or her transportation requirements and the
reason for these arrangements (e.g. student lives beyond established routes for public
transit system).
� Public transit is more than one-hour’s travel from the student’s home to the
postsecondary institution:
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the student indicating his or her transportation.
� Public transit is not available for the employed partner of a married student to
use from his or her home to place of employment:
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the student outlining the partner’s transportation requirements and
confirmation of the location of the spouse’s place of employment.
� Public transit is more than one-hour’s travel from the employed spouse of a
married student’s home to their place of employment:
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the student indicating his or her spouse’s transportation requirements;
• Confirmation of the location of the spouse’s place of employment.
� Partner’s Employment Requires Access to a Vehicle:
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the partner’s employer indicating the requirement of a vehicle for
employment purposes.
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� Access to a vehicle is required to fulfill the requirements of the student’s
program of studies (e.g. work placements) and no public transit is available
between the student’s home and work placements or the use of public transit
involves more than one hour of travel from the student’s home to the work
placement(s), or the work placement(s) must be more than 40 kilometers from
the student’s home:
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the student outlining his or her transportation requirements and the
reason for these arrangements.
� A single student resides with parents and requires access to a vehicle in order
to commute to the institution. To qualify for an increased vehicle exemption in
this situation, the family home must be more than 40 kilometers or one hour
travel time by public transit or be located where no public transit is available to
the institution.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the student indicating his or her transportation requirements and the
reason for these arrangements.
� A vehicle is required by a sole-support parent or married student to transport
his/her dependent children (e.g. under the age of 12) to and from a child care
provider.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Letter from the student outlining his or her transportation requirements and
confirmation of child care arrangement including location.
� The vehicle is owned or leased by a student with disabilities or the disabled
partner of a married student.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• Confirmation of the student’s or partner’s permanent disability consistent with OSAP’s
definition of permanent disability. Note: If the vehicle is specifically equipped to
accommodate the student’s disability, the entire value of the vehicle is exempt,
regardless of its current gross market value.
Adjustments to the Vehicle’s Gross Market Value
� Adjustment to the current gross market value of one or more vehicles.
A student can request that the original gross market value of the vehicle (and/or the vehicle
of his or her partner) be adjusted if he/she believes that the original amount listed is an
over-evaluation or if the Ministry has been unable to verify the vehicle’s value and has sent
the student a letter (Notice of Vehicle Verification) to indicate that the student must
document the value of a specific vehicle.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• A written, signed and dated independent vehicle appraisal. The appraisal must be
dated on or after the asset valuation date i.e., 16 weeks prior to the start of the
student’s study period. This document must identify the car in question (e.g. year,
make, license plate number);
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• A letter of explanation from the student which identifies the vehicle (year, make,
license plate number) for which a revised value is being provided.
� The vehicle has been modified to accommodate a disability.
If a student or spouse owns a vehicle which has been modified to accommodate a disability,
i.e. Electronic ramp, then the market value of the vehicle is not considered when calculating
an asset contribution.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• The student or the partner must self-identify as being permanently disabled;
• A medical certificate;
• A letter outlining the nature of the modification made to the vehicle.
� The vehicle has been listed twice due to a license plate error.
The license plate information is a factor in matching information from MTO. If the student
did not report the license plate information accurately, then the results from MTO would
yield a vehicle listed by the student and the same vehicle (under a different plate number)
listed by MTO.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• A letter of explanation from the student. The letter must include details with respect
to make and model, year and current market value of the vehicle;
• A copy of the vehicle registration.
Adjustment to the Vehicle’s Ownership
Students are required to list any vehicles for which the ownership is in his or her name or that of
his or her partner as of the asset valuation date. This includes vehicles that the student or partner
has leased through a leasing company. A student can appeal to have the vehicle removed from
their OSAP assessment under the following conditions:
� The vehicle was sold after the asset valuation date.
If a student and/or spouse sells the vehicle prior to the review deadline (i.e., eight weeks
before the end of his/her study period), the value of the vehicle can be deleted for financial
need assessment purposes, provided that the vehicle was sold for a reasonable market
price and the proceeds of the sale are reflected on the application as other assets. The
student must demonstrate that the change in ownership resulted from an “arm’s length
market transaction”. Ownership transfers to family members will not be
considered. (For OSAP purposes, family members are defined as parents,
children, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, and cousins.)
Supporting Documentation Required:
• A letter from the student explaining when the vehicle was sold, including whether or
not this transaction involved an immediate family member. The student must confirm
that they have consulted with the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and that they
have had the records at MTO updated.
• Documentation to confirm any debts repaid from proceeds of the sale of the vehicle.
Debt must be directly related to financing the initial purchase of the same vehicle.
� Termination of vehicle lease after the asset valuation date.
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If a student and/or spouse terminate the lease of a vehicle after the asset valuation date
and prior to the review deadline (i.e., eight weeks before the end of his/her study period),
the value of the vehicle can be deleted for need assessment purposes. Where the lease
termination results in a net increase in the student/spouse’s financial assets, the new value
of financial assets must also be reported for assessment purposes. The student must
demonstrate that the change in ownership resulted from an “arm’s length market
transaction”. For example, if the vehicle was being leased from family members, and the
lease is terminated by the family members, the value of the vehicle will not be deleted. (For
OSAP purposes, family members are defined as parents, children, siblings, grandparents,
aunts, uncles, in-laws and cousins.)
Supporting Documentation Required:
• A letter from the student explaining when the lease was terminated, including
whether or not this transaction involved an immediate family member. Student must
confirm that they have consulted with MTO and have had the records at MTO
updated.
• Documentation from the vehicle leasing company confirming the net cost of the lease
termination.
Reviews to Adjust Contribution From RRSPs
Appeals related to expected contributions from RRSPs are not normally considered. However, if
RRSPs have been listed in error or if the value has not been correctly stated, the file may be
reassessed upon receipt of written clarification from the student and supporting documentation.
The student must list the full net worth of all RRSPs registered to the student (and partner, if
applicable) as of the asset valuation date.
RRSPs are not to include the value of investments that are mandatorily locked in according to
Section 60 (J) of the Income Tax Act. (“Locked in” does not refer to the student’s [or partner’s]
choice to invest the funds for a specific time period.)
Reviews to Adjust Contribution From Other Assets
There is no review to the expected contribution from other assets, except for students with
permanent disabilities and recipients of pain and suffering awards (see below). However, a
student may provide clarification to the Financial Aid Office of the asset amount listed on the
application.
Students must report ‘the total gross value of all account balances at financial institutions, bonds,
term deposits, GIC’s, all other investments, and any other assets not otherwise indicated already
on the application which can be directed toward educational costs for the current study period.
The items which should not be included are the value of a principal residence, clothing, furniture,
personal belongings, non-economic loss and/or pain and suffering awards of less than $100,000,
or OSAP funding.’
OSAP funds from the previous study period are not to be included in the value of financial assets
available. For example, students who are in receipt of OSAP during the four months prior to the
start of the current study period can request an adjustment if they have included OSAP funds
relating to this study period.
Students must report all assets, world-wide (and the world-wide assets of their spouse) as of the
date 16 weeks BEFORE the start of their study period. If they start in September, then they
would report their assets as of May. In order to verify assets, the Ministry may contact any
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persons or bodies, including government bodies within and outside of Canada, that may have
information about their assets.
Reviews to Adjust the Value of Pain and Suffering Award Reported as Other Assets
Pain and suffering awards, including WSIB Non-economic loss (NEL) awards, in amounts less than
$100,000 are exempt from assets. Any amount over $100,000 is considered an asset. If
payments are made for different incidents, the payments related to each incident are exempt up
to $100,000.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• a copy of a letter from WSIB, legal court document, or payment stubs specifying a pain
and suffering or NEL award.
Reviews to Adjust the Value of Other Assets for Students With Disabilities
An adjustment to the expected contribution from Other Assets (i.e., Item 670) can be considered
if:
• The applicant has self-identified as a student with a permanent disability;
• A student has a dependent child with a permanent disability;
• A student’s spouse has a permanent disability.
The expected contribution from Other Assets of the student may be adjusted as follows:
• A single student is expected to contribute 100% of Other Assets in excess of $3,000.
• A sole-support parent is expected to contribute 100% of Other Assets in excess of $5,000.
This exemption level is increased by $500 for each dependent child.
• A married student is expected to contribute 100% of Other Assets in excess of $5,500. This
exemption level is increased by $500 for every dependent child.
Supporting Documentation Required:
• A letter from the student requesting a review of their assets based on the fact that they
have documented a permanent disability.
Funding from an In-Trust Account
An in-trust account is an “informal trust” set up with a financial institution to invest funds for a
minor (the “beneficiary”). A donor contributes to the plan for the beneficiary. The trustee (who
can be different from the donor) manages the investments in the account and acts on behalf of
the beneficiary until the beneficiary reaches age of majority. The assets belong to beneficially the
child and must generally be held for the child until the age of majority.
As outlined below, money held in or withdrawn from a student’s In-Trust Account may or may not
be considered an asset or income when assessing financial need.
In-Trust Accounts as Income
Withdrawals from an In-Trust Account in the current study period that are made by the student
or by the account’s trustee and transferred to the student must be reported as either pre-study or
study period income on the OSAP application, depending on when the amount was withdrawn.
In-Trust Accounts as Assets
An In-Trust Account is considered an asset only if the student has access to the funds during the
current study period but has chosen not to withdraw the money to help fund their postsecondary
studies.
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The value of the asset must reflect the amount of funding available to the student in the current
year that has not been withdrawn. For example, if a Trust is valued at $5000 but as per the
conditions of the account the student can only access $1000 per year, then only $1000 can be
considered as an asset. As described above, any amount the student withdraws is considered
income.
In-Trust Accounts that are Exempt from the Need Assessment
If ANY of the following is true, then an In-Trust Account is exempt from the student’s need
assessment.
• The trustee of the account or the student cannot access the account for any reason until the
student reaches a specified age (i.e., student/trustee cannot withdraw funds during the
current study period); or
• The student will not come of age during the current study period, and the trustee has
refused to exercise discretion to remove from the account for the student’s use; or
• The conditions attached to the account explicitly state that the funds are not to be used for
postsecondary studies.
Documentation Required:
• A copy of the documentation used to determine the conditions under which the student
and/or the trustee have access to the funds;
• A letter signed and dated by the student indicating that he/she contacted the trustee to
disburse the funding; and
• A letter signed and dated by the trustee indicating refusal to disburse any funds to the
student during his/her current study period, if applicable, or indicating the total amount
that was or will be disbursed during the current study period.
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Appeal Submission Cover Sheet –
Asset Contribution Appeal
Please forward to:
Student Awards & Financial Aid Office
401 Sunset Ave.
Windsor, ON N9B 3P4
LAST NAME:
FIRST NAME:
U OF W STUDENT ID:
SOCIAL INSURANCE #:
DATE OF BIRTH:
APPEAL SUBMISSION
CHECKLIST:
Financial Aid Office Notes:
o A letter from you outlining your request for appealing your OSAP
assessment and under what grounds you are appealing;
o Supporting documentation to support your request for appeal.
o Be sure that your letter(s) are SIGNED, DATED and that your name
and student ID# appears on all of your supporting documentation.
The University of Windsor is committed to the protection of privacy and confidentiality of all its constituents. The information collected in this process is collected
under the authority of the University of Windsor Act, 1962 and is collected for the purposes of administering the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) on
behalf of the Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities and any other need-based financial assistance as administered by the University of Windsor. If you have
any questions about the collection of information or the uses to which it will be put, please direct your questions to the Director, Student Awards & Financial Aid.
The ministry administers OSAP under the authority of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.19, as amended, R.R.O. 1990, Reg.
773, Reg. 774, and Reg. 775, as amended, and O. Reg. 268/01, as amended; the Financial Administration Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F. 12, as amended; the Canada
Student Financial Assistance Act, S.C. 1994, c. 28, as amended; the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations, SOR 95-329, as amended; and the Budget
Implementation Act, 1998, S.C. 1998, c. 21, as amended. If you have any questions about the collection or use of this information, contact the Director, Student
Support Branch, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, PO Box 4500, 189 Red River Road, 4th Floor, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6G9.
Updated April 2008/jm
Office Use:
Date Received: __________________
Date Reviewed: __________________
□ Approved □ Not Approved
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